Look, as soon as you sit in the office chair, your stomach comes a little forward. Tightening the shirt button, and in the selfie? He began to work to hide his stomach. It’s not just an annoyance to your eyes; it’s actually a big signal to the body.
Every time you think, “I am planking, running, eating less sugar,” still the stomach is not reducing? Something is wrong somewhere, isn’t it? A little belly – that you don’t care about – you know, that’s an alarm going off in your body!
A meta-analysis in 2020 analyzed the results of 72 studies. The analysis showed that if the circumference around the waist was increased by only 10 cm, the risk of death increased by 11% on average!
And if the waist-to-height ratio increases a little more, then the risk goes up to 24%. Are you familiar with visceral fat? Because that’s the real danger. This fat puts pressure on the vital organs of the body. Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many other diseases.
Reduces the Total Amount of Body Fat
A lot of people think that belly fat can only be reduced by a special exercise. But in reality, body fat melts from the whole body, not from a specific part.
Researchers say that the average range of fat percentage for a normal man should be between 15-20% (in men). And between this range, visceral fat remains low, which reduces the risk of heart and other diseases.
As you begin to lose weight, your body begins to lose fat. These two are the most powerful weapons for reducing body fat,
1. Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercises such as brisk walking, running, swimming, and cycling help the body use fat as energy. Especially if you do 30-45 minutes of moderate-speed cardio, the fat metabolism is absolutely geared up. Because during aerobic movement, fat is the only fuel that the body uses to generate energy. Moreover, it is the best gateway to fat loss for those who sit all day long.
2. Weight training
Weight training not only builds muscle but also increases the body’s metabolism. It means your body burns more calories even when you’re doing nothing. Moreover, weight lifting has an ‘afterburn effect’, in which the body burns calories even after exercise. If you want to cut off your belly fat, it is mandatory to do weight training at least 2-3 days a week.
Count Your Macros
This is the point where we make the biggest mistake. A lot of people think that fat will automatically reduce as we eat less. But the reality is totally different.
A 2006 Cornell University study found that People who usually eat larger portions often feel like they’ve eaten about 40% less than they actually did. And those who are slim often tend to assume they’re eating about 20% less than they really are.
And here comes the importance of macro counting. Because when you have the data of your meal throughout the day, which amount you’re consuming of which nutrient. Then it will be easy for you to measure how many calories you’re putting in and if your body is getting proper nutrition or not to grow. That’s the reason we called fat loss a mathematical game.
Moreover, by counting macros, you get the previous data that helps you to know where you’re stuck and where you need to adjust to break the plateau and push for progress. On top of that, counting macros helps to find out the hidden calories, and in most of the cases hidden calories are the major reason why people are struggling with fat.
Often, we minimize carbs from our diet and think we are on a deficit diet. But at the same time, we are consuming tea with 2-3 spoons of sugar, and after holding the tea cup, we find something is missing. Then we take some snacks for the company. Even when cooking curry, you think a little oil and pour it on the spoon.
That’s how, unknowingly, you’re putting 500-700 more calories and making your little snack or healthy meal into a fat bomb. Which is equal to or sometimes larger than your lunch or dinner, with just this little amount of stuff.
Don’t sit for too Long
It’s not always your food that makes you obese. But nowadays, every stage of people is struggling with this problem. And that is passing the whole day sitting at a desk for his job or studying. So with this situation, reducing belly fat feels like a war against yourself.
The most interesting part is that I’m not saying this, a study published in the Obesity Journal in 2018. And the study monitored the sitting time of 124 individuals for a whole week. The next step is to use an MRI scanner to scan the body. They found that people who sit for a long period of time tend to accumulate more visceral and liver fat. Every hour of sitting more, that ‘hidden fat’ in the deep of the stomach increases to about 0.6 liters, and the abdominal fat outside is up to 1.7 liters.
Many people think How is this possible? Let me explain simply, when you sit for a long time, then the bigger muscles of your body, especially the core and the lower body, remain inactive. This means a very small amount of blood circulates to that area, and this is the most suitable situation for fat to accumulate.
So, adjusting your meals is not enough, you’ve got to move between your work. Stand up after every hour, walk for 5 min. If possible, do 10 push-ups or 10 body weight squats or any kind of physical activity. Even if you can’t do these, try to stretch after every hour, especially the lower body. Because when you do a little movement, your brain gets the signal that this man is not sitting idle to accumulate fat and it maintains the proper blood circulation.
NEAT (Non-Exercise Thermogenesis)
After calorie deficit, another powerful component to reduce belly fat faster is non-exercise thermogenesis. Now, what does that mean? The things you do, without exercise that still burn calories.
Some examples of NEATs are,
- You should stand in the office and look at the files.
- Walk to the bus stop and catch the bus.
- Standing while cooking.
- Choosing stairs instead of a lift.
- Shaking your legs while speaking
and many more little activities during your regular activity. And the most surprising fact is that with this little adjustment, your body will burn 15-30% of the calories that you consume.
Burn More Calories than you Eat
A common misconception in gym gear is “I sweat for a straight hour in the gym, so I must have burned a lot of calories, now I can eat anything and it will balance”. But you don’t know what the reality is. “Yes”, you’ve burned a lot, but what about those 23 hours that you’re spending outside of the gym?
Always keep in mind that,
Fat loss is all about calories. No matter what diet or exercise someone follows, without a calorie deficit, there won’t be any result.
If you stay sedentary all day long, with a happy mind by thinking you eat less, but at the same time you’re body is also spending less, then forget about reducing belly fat. Even you won’t see a bit of improvement.
And here comes “Mindful eating”. It means while eating, put all your concentration on eating, without scrolling or any distractions. And eat slowly so that you can understand when you’re full, and always leave some space for water.
Plus, when you eat slowly, a satiety hormone (leptin) sends a signal to your brain, which helps you to feel full without excessive eating.
Move after eating
What do we do after eating? Most of the time, we go to bed or sit on the couch and start scrolling. But do you know this might be a reason for your fat accumulation?
After a meal, if you stay completely inactive, then the body can’t use insulin properly. For that reason, the body starts storing glucose in the bloodstream. As a result, the body starts to convert the glucose into fat, and it wraps around your core.
Now you may probably be thinking, “Should I go for a run after eating?”. Not, not at all. Your body requires a light activity, and it may be 10-15 minutes of brisk walking, and that’s enough.
Loretta DiPietro and her team released a study in 2013 in the journal Diabetes Care. That showed that older people who went for a brisk walk three times a day, for 15 minutes after each meal, were better able to control their blood sugar levels throughout the day. Even for those in the risk zone (due to insulin resistance), the results were excellent.
Limit Your Sugar Intake
When you’re adjusting your diet to reduce your belly fat, the first thing you must cut out is sugar. Because this is such a thing that looks sweet from the outside, but it’s continuously destroying your body from the inside.
But let me clear something first, natural sugar and added refined sugar are not the same thing. Natural sugars like fructose in fruit or lactose in milk are slowly digested. On top of that, there is fiber and protein present in these natural foods. As a result, it doesn’t spike glucose. But when you’re consuming something like soft drinks, sauces, biscuits, cake, flavoured yoghurt, or any type of cereals, you don’t have any idea how much hidden poison you’re putting inside.
And do you know what’s the most dangerous fact? That is an insulin spike. It sends a signal to the body to “Quickly convert this glucose into fat.” Since our abdominal area is the first part to store fat. That’s why fat starts wrapping that area first.
Based on information from a cardiology advisor, a long-term study with 1,003 middle-aged people was done in 2016. CT scans at the beginning and after 6 years showed that People who drank at least one glass of sugary drinks every day (like juice, pop, etc.) gained up to 27% more visceral fat. Surprisingly, the effects were the same whether you worked out or lost weight. Basically, this means that liquid sugar is the main cause of visceral fat building.
So, stay away from those products where you see “added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or Maltodextrin on the label. Because you won’t see any improvement if you’re consuming 30-40 grams of added sugar regularly.
Take a Sound Sleep
Sleep, this is such a thing that we mostly never take seriously. But in reality, we spend one-third of our lives sleeping. Do you think we would ever need to spend a second on it if it weren’t that important?
To be honest, without proper sleep, nothing will work, not any exercise or any diet plan. The reason is that your body will activate the “survival mode” because it thinks you’re in danger and stores fat as future energy reserves. Besides, lack of sleep increases the cortisol hormone, which is another big factor in accumulating fat.
Moreover, less sleep means you’re burning fewer calories. In 2004, a lab study at Stanford University and the University of Chicago found that after just two nights of 4 hours of sleep, ghrelin (the hunger hormone) increased by an average of 28%, and leptin (the satiety hormone) decreased by 18%. Because of this, the examinees are about 24% more hungry than they were before. That is, if you do not sleep well, the body itself produces a hormone that makes you want to eat without eating, and after eating, the stomach does not feel full.
And have you ever noticed? If you didn’t sleep well the next day, you feel very dizzy, and also have a bad mood throughout the day. You try but can’t concentrate on your work, and even though you eat a very small amount, you feel your stomach is swollen. All these things happen due to a decrease in your insulin sensitivity, which is caused by a lack of sleep.
Some people have a question that “I’m a night owl, and have a lot of things to do, like watching reels, or completing series, when will I sleep at night?’ But if you’re serious about reducing fat, then 7-8 hours of deep and restful sleep are mandatory.
Manage stress
Have you ever noticed that when you’re under stress, you also feel uncomfortable physically? Don’t be surprised. I know it sounds a little bit weird, but it’s true that your stress is making you fat. During stress, the level of the stress hormone called cortisol increases in our body.
And the specialty of this stress hormone is, it accelerates the fat accumulation process. And you see the result around your abdominal area.
A study from 2015 published in the Obesity Journal found that people with high cortisol gain belly fat faster than everyone else, even when they are working out or dieting. Because cortisol tells the body, “Here’s what I’m getting, deposit!” and it slows down the metabolism. That’s why you shouldn’t expect to lose fat if your mind and body are both stressed.
Let me prove to you another reason. Think about those times whenever you’re under pressure due to studying, your boss, or any personal issue, you run your mouth every time with some snacks, but most of the time it’s something sweet. “Can you relate? I guess so.” The most dangerous thing is, whatever snack you eat has more than 450 calories per 100 grams. But in sweets, the calorie goes way too up.
But I have some good news for you. Some small steps like 5 min deep breathing, walking somewhere where you can feel the natural refreshment, or doing a digital detox at least once a week (digital detox is disconnecting yourself from every kind of digital device) can reduce your stress hormone level significantly.
Train Your Core
I know ab or oblique exercises won’t reduce fat from those specific areas. But it’s important because training a specific part means building muscles and more blood circulation. And more bloodstream stops the tendency to store fat.
When we hear about core training, the first thing we imagine is those six-pack abs in our abdomen. But in reality core is like the motor inside your body that supports your entire body.
The specialty of having a strong core is, your posture will be fine, and overall body balance is good. On top of that, you feel more energy, and it also helps to reduce back pain.
Plus, training your core will boost your metabolism. Some basic core training exercises are, plank, hanging leg raises, mountain climbers, and russian twists. Also, when you have toned core muscles, even if you have some fat in that area, it will not be visible.
Don’t Eat Carbs Alone
Mostly Asian people make this mistake. They eat carbs with carbs, for example, bread with fried potatoes. The most harmful side of eating carbs alone is, it suddenly spikes our insulin level to the peak and quickly drops the level very low.
Most importantly, only eating carbs without any protein or fiber will fill your body with glucose. Then immediately, your body must have to produce more insulin to balance the level. But if your body doesn’t have any reason to use this energy, then it stores this as a form of fat for future energy reserve.
So, next time, add some veggies, two eggs, or any other source of protein with your carbs.
Eat slowly with a small portion
Why are you always in a hurry while eating? I mean, you’re plate is empty within 2 minutes. Come on our body is not a mobile that immediately picks up the signal within a millisecond.
Do you know that eating slowly has a psychological effect? “Yes.” It takes around 20 minutes to send the signal from your stomach to your brain that “I’m full now.” Then you feel like “Yes, that’s enough”. This signal is called the satiety cue, meaning.
There is a simple trick to bypass overeating. Use small plates and a spoon, chew your food properly, and concentrate on your food while eating, not scrolling. That’s how you can control the portion and don’t need to follow any hard diet.